LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



(SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT.) 

Chap BXW? 
Shelf £ 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



A DISCOURSE 

ON OCCASION OF THE DEATH 

OF THE 

REV, WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING, D.D., 

DELIVE RED IN 

ESSEX STREET CHAPEL. 

ON 

Sunday, November 6th, 1842, 

'>'', ".'■ BY '' ' ', . 

THOMAS MADGE. 

MINISTER OF THE CHAPEL. 



[Price One S hilling. °\ 



A DISCOURSE 

ON OCCASION OF THE DEATH 

OF THE 

REV. WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING, D.D., 

DELIVERED IN 

[tw library! 

^c owom tasfpESSEX street chapel, 

IjJAMlIIIOTON 

Sunday, November 6th, 1842. 

b 

By THOMAS MADGE, 

MINISTER OF THE CHAPEL. 



" They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they 
that turn many unto righteousness as the stars for ever." 



LONDON: 
JOHN GREEN, NEWGATE STREET. 
1842. 



DISCOURSE. 



John, v. 35. 

He was a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing 
for a season to rejoice in his light. 

These words were spoken by our Lord of John 
the Baptist ; but, instead of showing how justly 
applicable they were to this bold and intrepid re- 
former, I shall now direct your thoughts and atten- 
tion to another application of them, — an applica- 
tion for which your minds must, in some measure, 
be prepared by the recent announcement in our 
public organs of intelligence, of the departure from 
this world of one of the noblest and most gifted of 
his race. To most, if not to all of you, the sad 
tidings must have been communicated of the death 
of him whose name is co- extensive with the lan- 
guage in which he wrote, and will descend with 
honour to future generations. Dr. Channing is no 
longer a denizen of time, — a pilgrim of earth. His 
spirit has passed away from this land of mortality, 
— this region of shadows and dreams, and is gone 



4 



to be a dweller amid the brighter scenes, — in the 
more durable and august abodes of the eternal 
kingdom. But though dead, he yet speaketh ; and 
will, I believe, long continue to speak to the minds 
and hearts of thousands of his race. His voice 
may no more come sounding over the wide waters 
of the Atlantic with the fresh utterance of truths 
that were dearest to his soul ; but the words which 
he has spoken will not, cannot die, — the works 
which he has left behind him cannot perish. The 
outpourings of his pure, generous, and lofty spirit 
have not descended with him to the grave : we 
have the " breathing thoughts and the burning 
words" stamped by him upon his immortal pages, 
and from them we may continue to draw inspira- 
tions of truth and knowledge, and hope and joy, 
which will elevate and purify, cheer arid gladden 
our hearts to the last hour of their mortal beating. 

I have no intention of entering at this moment 
upon a formal and studied eulogy of this distin- 
guished man. I shall not attempt to describe the 
grasp and comprehension of his mind, the force of 
his eloquence, the fertility of his genius, or the 
energy and determination of his will. I shall go 
into no minute delineation of the admirable pro- 
perties of his intellectual, or the beautiful quali- 
ties of his moral nature ; all of which were en- 
shrined in the most elevated and enlightened piety. 



5 



Let these be judged of by each one for himself, 
from an attentive and careful perusal of the pre- 
cious volumes which he has bequeathed to us ; or, 
if any attempt of the kind be made by any one, it 
must be left to other and better hands than mine. 
Indeed I almost shrink from the brief notice which 
I am now about to take of some of the great truths 
or principles which it was the main object of his 
life to expound and enforce, the services which he 
rendered to the cause of freedom and humanity, 
and our obligations to him, as Unitarian Chris- 
tians, for the aid and support which he brought to 
our too often misunderstood and misrepresented 
faith, and especially for the light and warmth which 
his genius has shed upon views and hopes which, 
bright and animating as they really and intrinsic- 
ally are, are sometimes ignorantly and innocently, 
and sometimes designedly and mischievously, held 
up as cheerless and cold. But to do even this in a 
manner at all adequate to the occasion, and an- 
swerable to my own estimate of what he was and 
of what he has done, far exceeds my limited 
powers, and would require talents and eloquence 
akin to his own. Nevertheless I felt that I could 
not, with satisfaction to myself, meet you at this 
time and in this place without touching a string 
that would, in some degree, vibrate in unison with 
your own thoughts and sympathies. I felt that it 



6 



became me to express, feebly though it be, our 
common sense of the loss which we and the whole 
civilized world have just sustained, the honour and 
reverence in which we hold the name of Channing, 
and the gratitude which is due to God for having 
raised up such a burning and shining light, — a 
light in which not only we of this generation have 
been permitted to rejoice, but which will illumi- 
nate the minds and gladden the hearts of those 
who come after us. 

While, however, we claim Channing for our own, 
as peculiarly belonging to our household of faith ; 
while we glory in the possession of a name so illus- 
trious ; while we feel it to be a privilege and a di- 
stinction to be able to go forth to the world and 
say, the faith which we hold was held by him, was 
defended by him, was explained and illustrated by 
him, we would not deny the interest which all men 
have in him and his instructions. They are the com- 
mon property of the whole civilized world ; of all, at 
least, who are familiar with the English tongue. 
Catholic # , in the noblest sense of the word, he con- 
fined himself to no party, but thought for all, felt 
for all, and laboured for all. He had a mind too 
free, in its aspirations and strivings, to bear the 
bondage of sectarian shackles, — a soul of too large 
a growth to limit the range of its movements 



* See Note at the end. 



7 



within the little narrow circle of sectarian zeal and 
activity ; and, though faithful to the principles 
which he adopted, and loving truth with a pure 
and disinterested love, and always ready to sacrifice 
any thing or every thing in its behalf, he looked 
abroad upon mankind, upon their ways and doings, 
their fashions and opinions, with a clear and un- 
clouded eye, and spoke with a voice that made its 
way to the understandings and hearts of men every- 
where. Advocating and defending, as he often did, 
unpopular religious truth, it was yet his habit to 
go forth, and standing on the ground of our com- 
mon humanity, do battle with the foes of knowledge 
and liberty and charity, and maintain and uphold, 
with mighty power and effect, the principles of 
justice and mercy. For this reason, and because 
all his intellectual efforts — even those which were 
put forth in defence of what was generally deemed 
to be serious error, — were pervaded and animated 
with the light of beautiful and happy thoughts and 
the pure ethereal fire of a fervid and lofty spirit, he 
not only obtained " fit audience among the few ", 
but was listened to and favourably regarded even 
by the many. 

The first production of Dr. Channing's by which 
he became extensively known in this country, was 
a discourse preached and published in defence of 
the great distinguishing principles of Unitarian 



8 



Christianity. Till then his name had scarcely been 
heard of ; but that at once gave it a notoriety and a 
fame, — among those, at least, who entertained the 
same opinions with himself — which was the har- 
binger of a wider and more lasting reputation. The 
sermon, delivered at the ordination of the Rev. 
Jared Sparks, exhibits a statement of Unitarian 
principles and the grounds on which they rest, in 
a manner so luminous, with arguments so weighty 
addressed to the reason, and with appeals so touch- 
ing addressed to the heart, that it soon became 
manifest, that he, who could speak thus, would not 
long remain unheard by a much larger circle than 
that of the religions body to which he more parti- 
cularly belonged. And so it was. Pamphlet after 
pamphlet came issuing from his pen, — some of them 
referring to matters not immediately connected 
with his profession, — which having no religious 
prejudices to struggle with and overcome, at once 
attracted general attention and obtained for him an 
unusual degree of popular favour. His tracts cir- 
culated over the land by thousands. One edition 
was soon followed by another and another ; and it 
was generally felt that a Teacher had arisen up in 
the new world worthy of being listened to by the 
men of the old, — a Teacher, who, for the breadth and 
loftiness of his views, his high and healthy morality, 
his noble assertions and vindications of the rights of 



9 



humanity, his wonderful penetration into the depths 
and mysteries of our nature, his exalted sentiments 
of duty and devotion to the will of God, — who, for 
all these, and for the warmth, the fervour, the imagi- 
nation, which, like a secret fire burning beneath his 
pages, made them glow with extraordinary bright- 
ness, — deserved to be ranked among the first and 
noblest of living writers. 

Of his claims to originality I shall make no men- 
tion. There is inscribed upon his name a better, a 
prouder distinction than this. He himself was too 
intensely earnest, too deeply interested in the views 
and sentiments to which he was ever and anon 
giving utterance, to think for a moment of how 
they came into his mind, — whether they sprung up 
from silent communion with his own spirit, or whe- 
ther they were kindled there by the light of other 
minds coming into contact with his. One thing 
may, with truth, be asserted, that never did any 
man set forth the views which he deemed valuable 
and important, in a form more interesting, more 
attractive to the taste, more impressive to the 
heart, more awakening to the conscience. In me- 
ditating on his pages every one feels within himself 
that he has lying before him the words of a right 
honest and sincere man. Every one is impressed 
with the conviction that he is listening to the pure 
and ardent breathings of a magnanimous, disinter- 



10 



ested, heaven- uplifted soul. This it is which con- 
stitutes the great charm of his writings. We know 
that we are reading not what was written for effect, 
for parade, for self-exaltation and advancement, 
for wonderment and fame ; but what comes from 
the very soul of the man ; what was really believed, 
what was really felt, what was the actual intent and 
purpose of his heart. There is no disguise, no re- 
serve about him ; he lays bare to you his whole 
inner being, tells you every secret thought that in- 
habits there, makes you feel that what he says he 
is constrained to say by the strong fervid convic- 
tions of a spirit impatient of restraint and demand- 
ing to be heard. No human love or human fear, 
no little hankering after this man's favour and that 
man's applause, steps in to arrest him in his plain, 
straight-forward career of saying and doing the 
thing that seemed to him right. The only question 
which appears ever to come up before him is, What 
says conscience ? What says duty ? What is the 
will of God ? When that is known his way is 
known ; his course is determined. He consults not 
with flesh and blood ; he enters into no treaty or 
parley with worldly considerations ; he will submit 
to no terms of compromise. The counsels of pru- 
dence and care, he is willing and ready to listen to 
and to follow,, save only when they would silence the 
voice of principle and substitute expediency for 



11 



right. Then, indeed, he regards them as evil ad- 
visers, and spurns them from his presence. 

This high moral integrity is the crown and glory 
of his intellectual powers. It is this which so quali- 
fies him to he the prophet, the teacher of the peo- 
ple. It is this which gives to his speech an almost 
oracular wisdom and authority. It is this w T hich 
makes us desire that his works should be read and 
studied by all classes and descriptions of men, by 
young and old, by rich and poor, by high and low. 
In them are to be found lessons for all ; and all who 
ponder them well in their hearts will be the wiser 
and the better for doing so. 

I shall now proceed to offer a few remarks upon 
the views and sentiments which he loved and prized 
so much — upon which he was so accustomed to 
dwell, — which he has exhibited in such a variety of 
lights, and which he has expounded and illustrated 
with all the force and fervour of his rich and vi- 
gorous eloquence. These relate, for the most part, 
to the moral perfections and character of God ; his 
paternal interest in his child and creature man ; the 
greatness and universality of the divine benevo- 
lence ; the dignity of human nature, its capacity 
for endless improvement in knowledge, virtue and 
happiness, and the liberal, generous, merciful spirit 
of the gospel of Christ. What wealth of thought, 
what intensity of feeling, what felicity of language. 



12 



he has brought to bear upon these topics can be 
known only to those who are well acquainted with 
his writings. V ain would it be for me to attempt 
giving you anything like a just conception of them, 
either by the observations which I might myself be 
able to offer, or by the specimens which I could 
present to you of his own words. Something, how- 
ever, it may be proper for me to say ; and if what I 
shall say should have the effect of inducing you to 
recur a little oftener to this source of elevated in- 
struction and pure delight, I feel assured that my 
efforts will not go unrewarded. 

In nothing then was Dr. Channing more distin- 
guished than for the prominence which he gave to 
certain great moral truths and sentiments ; the 
peculiar form or dress in which he exhibited them, 
and the unwearied earnestness with which he en- 
forced them. This may emphatically be said of the 
views which he took of human nature. Of that 
nature, as is probably well known to you, he form- 
ed a very high estimate, — not, indeed, of the ac- 
tual state or condition in which it is often to be 
found, degraded by folly and polluted by vice ; but 
of its capacities and powers, of what it was made 
for, and of what it may become. He believed that 
the soul of man is truly an image of God ; having 
within it energies, and feelings, and affections, 
which, if called forth from their hiding-places and 



13 



subjected to the proper training and discipline, 
would justify the opinion thus entertained of it. 
Seeing how much it has been the fashion to decry 
our nature, to represent it as essentially vile and 
radically corrupt, having nothing but low desires 
and mean selfish purposes, and requiring the direct 
supernatural influences of God's spirit to quicken 
it into a better and diviner life, he was anxious to 
call attention to what he held to be truer and higher 
views of what man is and is capable of ; and instead, 
therefore, of dwelling on the poverty and meanness 
of human nature, he was wont to speak much of 
its riches and endowments, of the dignity of its 
origin and the grandeur of its destination. As 
some evidence of the correctness of his opinion that 
man is not inherently and necessarily the poor, low- 
creeping, abject thing of earth that he is often de- 
scribed to be, he pointed, in his own glowing style, 
to the intellectual power and energy with which he 
is endowed, to the idea of God so deeply planted 
in his breast, to the glorious imaginings and the 
lofty aspirations which sometimes flash like light- 
ning from his soul, to the moral force which has 
not unfrequently been displayed by him, resisting 
and rising above all physical needs and allurements, 
and manifesting a spirit of self-sacrifice and disin- 
terestedness worthy of the heaven from which he 
came, and of the heaven to which he is going. 



14 



This view of our nature is obviously a very favourite 
one with its asserter, and may, in fact, be consider- 
ed as a sort of key-note, to the sound of which 
most of the chords struck by him are made to beat 
in unison. It comes up before us in his writings 
again and again. We meet with it in all forms and 
varieties. It combines with and colours all his 
notions of our privileges, duties, and obligations. 
If an inborn dignity attaches to the human soul, 
then let all men honour it, and woe to him that 
mutilates it ! It is a sacred thing. Let not the 
oppressor's foot trample upon it, and let no vile, de- 
grading uses be made of it. Let its genuine powers 
and properties be called into life and action, and 
its native tendencies and affinities fostered and 
cherished. Place it, if possible, in circumstances 
and under influences where this object may be best 
promoted, and its true destiny fulfilled. These, 
and such like, are the inferences to be deduced and 
the lessons to be learnt from the doctrine before us. 
No wonder, that he who insisted upon this doctrine 
with such earnest iteration, should also be the 
strenuous advocate of universal education, of intel- 
lectual freedom, of civil and religious liberty, of 
human rights in all their variety, of justice and 
mercy in all their extent. No wonder, that every 
species of tyranny and outrage, whether committed 
by the many or the few, by bodies corporate or by 



15 



one individual towards another, should have found 
in him a resolute, indignant, uncompromising re- 
probator and foe. 

With these sentiments of the nature and destiny 
of man, were united and blended, in congenial fel- 
lowship, the opinions which he entertained of the 
perfections and character of God, and the spirit 
and design of the Christian revelation. If man be 
the great and dignified creature that he represents 
him to be ; if he be endowed with powers and affec- 
tions that assimilate him to the divine nature, and 
which, if enabled to grow and expand themselves 
in a right direction, would make that similitude in 
some degree apparent, what must be the character 
of the Being who thus formed him ! — how essen- 
tially wise and merciful and good ; how large his 
bounty, and how wide his care ! It is from the 
contemplation of our own nature that we rise to the 
justest conceptions of the God from whom that na- 
ture proceeded. By considering what we ourselves 
are, we learn best to understand what our Creator is. 
Our notions of wisdom and truth and rectitude and 
love are first drawn from the fountain of our own 
minds, — are first revealed to us by the exercise of our 
own faculties ; and then, these attributes, divested 
of every imperfection, and purified from all alloy, 
and robed in the majesty of infinity and eternity, 
are ,the very attributes which we ascribe to God. 



16 



Our Father in heaven ! — what would this designa- 
tion, now so dear and precious to us, have signi- 
fied, if we had known nothing of the heart of a 
human parent, of its sleepless vigilance, its abiding 
care, its unwearied and unweariable love ? The 
God then on whom our minds can contentedly 
rest, and towards whom our affections may joy- 
fully spring, is the God whose image dwells in our 
own souls. 

In accordance with these notions of the relation 
of man to God and of God to man, were the views 
which he entertained of the Christian religion. 
" Why," he asks with an eagerness which seems 
impatient of reply, — "Why was Christianity given? 
Why did Christ seal it with his blood ? Why is it 
to be preached ? What is the great happiness it 
confers ? What is the chief blessing for which it 
is to be prized ? What is its pre-eminent glory, — 
its first claim on the gratitude of mankind? I 
read the answer in these words, He hath given us 
not the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of 
a sound mind. The glory of Christianity is the 
pure and lofty action which it communicates to 
the human mind. It does not breathe forth a 
timid, abject spirit ; if it did, it would deserve no 
praise. It gives power, energy, courage, constancy 
to the will ; tove, disinterestedness, enlarged affec- 
tion to the heart ; soundness, clearness, vigour to 



17 



the understanding. It rescues him who receives it 
from sin, from the sway of the passions ; gives the 
full and free use of his best powers, brings out the 
divine image in which he was created, and in this 
way not only bestows the promise, but the begin- 
ning of heaven. This is the excellence of Chris- 
tianity." Again he says, " Jesus Christ came to 
reveal the Father. And why has the Creator sent 
his Son to make himself known ? I answer, be- 
cause God is most worthy to be known, because 
he is the most quickening, purifying, ennobling 
object for the mind, and his great purpose in re- 
vealing himself is that he may exalt and perfect 
human nature. I see everywhere," continues he, 
" this great design of liberating and raising the 
human mind. I see in Christianity nothing nar- 
rowing or depressing, — nothing of the littleness of 
the systems which human fear and craft and ambi- 
tion have engendered. 1 meet there no minute 
legislation, no descending to precise details, no 
arbitrary injunctions, no yoke of ceremonies. 
Everything breathes freedom, liberality, enlarge- 
ment. I meet there, not a formal, rigid creed, 
binding on the intellect, through all ages, the me- 
chanical, passive repetition of the same words and 
ideas ; but I meet a few grand, all-comprehensive 
truths, which are given to the soul to be developed 
and applied by itself ; given to it, as seed to the 

B 



18 



sower, to be cherished and expanded by its own 
thought, love and obedience into more and more 
glorious fruits of wisdom and virtue." 

These ideas recur again and again, — though with 
wonderful variety in their form and application, — 
and constitute, indeed, the germinating principle, 
the pith and marrow of his reasonings and discourse. 
Passages, expressive of the thoughts contained in 
the foregoing extracts, may be found scattered over 
every part of his writings, all tending to show the 
value and importance which he attached to them. 
Beautifully do they combine with and illustrate each 
other. And though this connection and relation 
between them is no where perhaps formally and ex- 
pressly announced, it is not the less clear that it 
existed in the author's mind, and shaped and co- 
loured all his views. 

There were two epochs in the life of Dr. Chan- 
ning which signally marked his devoted love of 
truth, with his determination to stand by it at all 
hazards ; and his deep-rooted enmity to, and abhor- 
rence of, every species of cruelty and oppression. 
The events to which I refer were his adoption and 
maintenance of Unitarian principles, and next, his 
unshaken hostility to the system of slavery as ex- 
isting in various parts of the United States. Of 
this last I shall speak first. For a while it does 
not appear that his voice had been loudly raised 



19 



against it. It may have been that this was owing 
to the circumstance that his attention had not been 
particularly drawn to the consideration of the evils 
and enormities arising out of it, and from which it 
would seem to be almost inseparable. Never in- 
deed could he have regarded it as otherwise than a 
grievous wrong, a gross infringement of human 
rights and a flagrant violation of the Christian 
spirit. But he may have thought that it was a con- 
dition of society induced by circumstances over 
which the present generation had no control, and 
for which they were not responsible ; and that there- 
fore it was best not to assail it too suddenly and 
rudely, but to leave its correction and overthrow to 
the progress of time ; to the advancing intelligence, 
the growing humanity, and the generally improving 
spirit of the people. But be this as it may, — let what 
will have been the reasons for the silence # which 

* This statement requires some little modification or correc- 
tion. It appears that Dr. Channing had not, in the former part 
of his life, been so silent upon the subject of Slavery as is here 
indicated. While this sheet is passing through the press, an ad- 
dress delivered at Lenox (as late as August last) in commemo- 
ration of slave emancipation in the British West Indies has been 
brought under my eye, in which Dr. Channing observes, " I wish 
it to be understood that I speak from no sudden impulse ; from 
no passionate zeal of a new convert, but from deliberate and long- 
cherished conviction." And then after mentioning an earnest 
conversation which he had more than twenty years ago with that 
" noble-minded man and fervent philanthropist, Henry Sedg- 

B 2 



20 



he had hitherto observed, his principles and his 
character forbid the supposition that timidity or 
selfishness ever formed any part of them. For when 
at length his mind had become more fully awakened 
to a perception of the crimes and abominations 
with which it is chargeable, no considerations of 
self, of the displeasure he might excite or the dan- 
ger he might incur ; no thought of the averted looks 
or alienated hearts of friends and acquaintances 
could keep him back from openly denouncing, with 
all the force of his mighty eloquence, the magnitude 
of the wrong committed, its essential injustice, and 
its inherent inhumanity. 

Without taking into account, however, the pe- 
culiar state of American society, and the conflict- 
ing interests and passions connected with this sub- 
ject, it would be difficult to appreciate the great- 
ness, the nobleness of the line of conduct here pur- 
sued. Organized associations had been formed 

wick," and his subsequent residence for a winter, about eleven 
years since, in one of the West India Islands, and the distressing 
scenes he there witnessed, he says, " On returning to this coun- 
try I delivered a discourse on Slavery, giving the main views 
which I have since communicated ; and this was done before the 
cry of abolitionism was heard among us." Still it cannot be 
denied that Dr. Channing took up the cause of the slave in his 
later years with a zeal and a warmth of which the public had no 
experience in his earlier days. This is said not to detract from 
his merits, but in explanation of the remarks made in this Dis- 
course. 



21 



throughout the United States for the abolition of 
slavery, which had given birth to the bitterest feel- 
ings of animosity and anger. Two parties arose 
and were soon arrayed in fierce hostility against 
each other. Crimination and recrimination passed 
between them. Charges were made, on the one 
side, of barbarity and cruelty ; and were retorted, 
on the other, by accusations of fanaticism and folly. 
To take up, therefore, the cause of emancipation 
without leaguing himself with a party was obviously 
no easy task. Though agreeing with the abolition- 
ists in their great object, there was yet sometimes 
in their proceedings that of which Dr. Channing 
did not altogether approve. Still their cause, in the 
main, was felt by him to be holy and just, and no 
errors or imprudence of which they might be guilty, 
though sufficient to prevent him from enrolling his 
name among their number, could deter him from 
aiding that cause with all the means and appli- 
ances at his command. Without mixing himself 
up then with any set of men, and obeying only the 
strong impulse of his own mind, he took his stand, 
boldly and manfully, as an assailant of the institu- 
tions of slavery, and with the thunder of his elo- 
quent and indignant denunciations shook them to 
the very foundation. We have here one glorious 
proof of the courageous independence and self- 



22 



sacrificing devotion of the departed friend of free- 
dom and humanity. 

The other instance to which I referred was his 
adoption and avowal of Unitarian Christianity. 
Dr. Channing was brought up in what is commonly 
called the orthodox faith. But the reflections and 
inquiries of his riper years convinced him that he 
was in error ; — convinced him that that faith was 
neither accordant with the dictates of reason or the 
instructions of Scripture ; and without looking to 
consequences, or considering how far it might affect 
his position and comfort in society, he straightway 
proceeded to avow his convictions and shape his 
course accordingly. Now this is another example 
of that unconquerable determination to prove all 
things and hold fast that which is good, to live the 
life of sincerity and truth, to make conscience and 
duty his only guides, and to speak, not as the mere 
echo of other men's thoughts, but from the inspira- 
tion of his own living soul, that distinguished and 
adorned every act of his life. To understand the 
force of principle which must have carried him on 
to such a step as this, we should bear in mind, that 
in America, as in this country, Calvinism or Trinita- 
rianism was almost the universal belief of the people. 
Anything approaching to Unitarian principles was 
regarded and treated by them as a most pestilential 



23 



heresy. There was nothing therefore, — looking out- 
wardly, — there was nothing to induce any man to 
adopt these principles, but, on the contrary, every- 
thing to repel him from them. 

Fifty years have scarcely elapsed since Dr. Priest- 
ley, an exile from his native land, took up his abode 
in the country of Washington ; and at that time 
so great, even there, was the repugnance to his re- 
ligious opinions, that he could hardly gain admis- 
sion into a single pulpit # . You may conceive then 
how little there was to lead any one to the recep- 
tion of Unitarian principles except that which will 
prevail and triumph over everything else, the pure, 
simple, unsophisticated love of truth. This, and 
this only, can account for the great change which 
took place in his views of the doctrines of Christi- 
anity. There was love, there was fear, there was 
interest and popularity, — there was even the pro- 
mise of usefulness, all beckoning him to halt, to 
pause, before he quitted the cultivated and crowded 
lands of orthodoxy, and passed over to the bare 
and almost unpeopled regions of heterodoxy. And 
no doubt, in resisting such appeals, he must some- 
times have felt a little of the melting of human sor- 
row. He could not but feel it. It is not in our 
nature to part with long-established habits and en- 

* If this great man were now living, there are hundreds into 
which he would be cordially welcomed, 



24 



deared associations, to separate from the old paths 
in which we have been accustomed to walk, with- 
out casting some fond lingering looks behind, and 
wishing that, if possible, the trial might pass from 
us. But, to use the matchless wwds of Milton, 
" when God commands to take the trumpet, it lies 
not in man's will what he shall say or what he shall 
conceal." 

Now, that such a mind as Dr. Channing's should 
have been so impressed with the evidence in favour 
of Unitarian Christianity as to yield up to it all the 
prejudices and prepossessions of his earlier years, 
is a fact well worthy our serious consideration. I 
know and freely admit that not upon the ground 
of any human authority, however high, should the 
truth of our opinions be made to rest. Still it is 
impossible not to feel that there is much weight in 
the testimony borne to them by one whose intellect 
was so clear and mighty, whose heart was so warm 
and pure, and whose conscience was so awake, so 
sensitively awake, to every call of principle and 
duty. Yes, I do and shall contend, that when such 
a man, with no sinister motive to urge, nay, with 
every earthly motive to restrain him, embraces a 
faith like ours, so stigmatized and denounced, so 
scorned and hated, it is a phenomenon not easily 
to be accounted for, except by concessions and ad- 
missions fatal to the cause of its opponents. 



25 



When we hear it said that Unitarianism is a 
cold, cheerless, heartless system, imparting neither 
wisdom to the understanding nor warmth and vi- 
gour to the soul, I would ask, what then was it 
that won the assent and gained the attachment of 
such men as Milton, Locke, Newton, Priestley, and 
now, Channing ? Turn to the writings of this last- 
mentioned confessor, muse upon the noble thoughts 
and the fine sentiments that are so thickly spread 
over his pages, and then say, whether these can come 
out of a cold and heartless system ; whether these 
can be the fruits of a faith which neither invigorates 
the understanding, nor elevates and sanctifies the 
heart ? Assuredly, if the strains of intense feeling, 
earnest conviction, deep love, fervent piety, lofty 
and inspiring hope are to be heard anywhere, they 
are to be heard flowing from harps attuned and har- 
monised by the genius of Channing. His own high 
character, his own pure mind, his own profoundly 
religious and disinterested soul is a guarantee to us 
that not for one moment would he have listened to 
reasons and arguments in favour of a doctrine that 
ministered neither elevation to the mind nor peace 
to the conscience. Nothing could have drawn such 
a man towards the Unitarian faith, had he not found 
in it views and sentiments in unison with and an- 
swering to his own virtuous and devout sympa- 
thies. The only conceivable source of attraction 



26 



to him was its truth, its purity, its accordance With 
the dictates of reason, the character of God, and 
the teachings of Christ. No other cause but this 
can be fairly assigned for the revolution which took 
place in his religious opinions. His mind was of 
a nature so thoroughly imbued with a love of the 
great, the beautiful, and the good, that had he seen 
anything of littleness or narrowness in the faith 
which he afterwards embraced, — anything deaden- 
ing or depressing in its influences, — anything tend- 
ing to the encouragement of low views of morality 
and piety, of the authority of God or the ministry 
of Christ, he would have spurned it from him with 
an instant and disdainful rejection. If, then, amid 
the discouragements which are so often presenting 
themselves, we are sometimes tempted to doubt 
whether ours can be the truth of God, let us call to 
mind the great and good men, the first and noblest 
of our race, who have given their verdict in favour 
of our cause. Let us think of the cloud of wit- 
nesses by which we are surrounded, of those who 
have lived and laboured, and of those who have 
suffered and died for it ; and, in comparison with 
the weight of their unbiassed and impartial suf- 
frage, that of those who have deserted from our 
ranks may well be accounted as the light dust in 
the balance. 

But great as are our obligations to Dr. Channing 



27 



for the good confession which he has witnessed to 
the truth and importance of our principles, they 
are much enhanced by the manner in which he has 
exhibited them ; by the strong and beautiful light 
which he has thrown upon them, and by which 
their true nature and character are brought out 
before us in clearer and brighter vision. This is a 
topic upon which much might be said, but upon 
which I cannot now afford to enlarge ; suffice it, 
therefore, to observe, that if any one would wish 
to become acquainted with the genuine spirit and 
tendency of Unitarian Christianity, let him turn to 
the writings of Dr. Channing, and if he had before 
doubted its invigorating, elevating, and purifying 
power, those doubts, I think, would then be soon 
dispelled. There he would contemplate it apart 
from dry textual criticism, sharp rigid definition, 
minute logical precision ; there he would behold it, 
not as a mere naked abstraction, a poor empty 
negation, a subject for the speculative understand- 
ing to reason upon and debate about ; but as a 
thing of life, to be felt and loved, — a vital, quicken- 
ing spirit, full of healthful activity, animated with 
faith and hope and joy, and breathing on all around 
the breath of its own holy inspiration, the serenity 
of its own peace and happiness. 

Of the personal conduct and character of the 



28 



subject of these remarks, — of what he was in the 
more private relations of life, I shall say nothing, 
as individually I know nothing. But it cannot for 
one instant be doubted — nor, I believe, has the 
whisper of a suspicion ever been breathed to the 
contrary — that they were altogether worthy of the 
pure and exalted principles which he maintained ; 
entirely consistent with his Christian belief and 
profession, and every way becoming the undaunted 
champion of human rights, and the determined foe 
of human oppressions. 

A burning and a shining light has now been 
struck from our intellectual and moral firmament. 
From " sunshine to the sunless land" how many 
have lately been summoned of those who were 
among the guiding spirits of the age ! While our 
minds are touched into a subdued feeling of solem- 
nity and awe as we think of the mighty of the 
earth thus passing away, let us, at the same time, 
bless God that such lights have been kindled 
among us, — that they have been raised up to shine 
upon our tabernacles and to irradiate our ways. 
For a full and just appreciation of that great man 
whose departure from the scene of his earthly la- 
bours has given occasion to the present address, I 
have not had the time, even if I possessed the qua- 
lifications : but anticipating, from the eminence 



29 



and distinction to which he had so justly risen, 
that something might be expected from me, in ac- 
knowledgment of his rare excellence and worth, as 
well as in token of our admiration and gratitude, 
I have paid this humble but sincere tribute to his 
memory. Nor let us forget, that the highest ho- 
mage which we can render to that memory, and the 
one which, if he were conscious of what is passing 
here, would be most welcome to the spirit of the 
departed, is not the idle breath of a little vain ap- 
plause, but the sincere and honest endeavour to 
follow him in so far as he was a follower of Christ ; 
to follow him in his truth, his faithfulness, his love 
of God and of man, his devotion to duty, his hatred 
of wrong in every shape, his anxious care and con- 
cern for his own improvement and that of his fellow 
men. We may not be able to resemble him in the 
splendour of his intellectual powers, or in the ex- 
tent of the influence which those powers have ex- 
erted, and will I trust still continue to exert, over 
the whole civilized world ; but it is within the 
reach of all and every one to imitate his high mo- 
ral qualities, to be like him in sincerity of mind, in 
honesty of purpose, in fidelity to conscience, in ge- 
nerous cares and efforts for the advancement of 
truth and righteousness, in preserving and bright- 
ening the image of God in our souls, and so of pre- 



30 



paring ourselves for the blessedness of heaven. In 
all this we may and should imitate him, and this 
imitation, I need scarcely add, will be the noblest 
garland we can hang upon his tomb — the brightest 
chaplet we can weave around his name. 



31 



NOTE. — Page 6. 



In alluding to the catholicity of Dr. Channing's spirit and tem- 
per, I would take the opportunity of observing that the religious 
faith embraced by him is a truly catholic faith, and the com- 
munion to which he joined himself a truly catholic communion. 
We hear much in the present day of Church principles, of Anglo- 
Catholic principles, by which is meant the dominion of the clergy 
and the subjection of the laity. Give to the one power and au- 
thority to rule over the mind and conscience, and to the other 
the abject spirit of unresisting submission, and you may then 
boast of having established a catholic communion, where all are 
of one creed. But in truth, its members are reducible to two 
classes ; despots and slaves ; the governing few and the subject 
many. This is one way, indeed, of establishing a catholic com- 
munion, not by including the greatest possible variety of opinion 
under one more general and comprehensive system of faith, — not 
by the exercise of mutual freedom and mutual charity ; but by 
reducing man, as far as religion is concerned, to an intellectual 
non-entity, and calling that the reign of peace and union because 
all around is stillness and death. The only church, that I know of, 
which is strictly answerable to the term Catholic, is the Unitarian 
Christian Church. In the terms of its communion there is nothing 
narrow and sectarian ; it is open to all who believe in Jesus as the 
Christ, and are desirous of worshiping the Father in spirit and in 
truth. It asks not what you think or believe on other points ; to 
every one who can bend the knee of devotion to the God and Fa- 
ther of our Lord Jesus Christ it gladly offers the right hand of fel- 
lowship. What more can be asked or desired? The utmost 
latitude and freedom of opinion is allowed, consistent with any 



32 



Christian association or fellowship at all. There must be an 
acknowledgement of some great principles held in common, or 
of course there can be no union. The sectarian spirit, is need- 
lessly to multiply those principles and rigidly to define them ; 
the catholic spirit, is to reduce them to the fewest possible num- 
ber, and to give them a large and generous meaning. This, I 
conceive, to be the character of Unitarian Christianity, and no 
truly catholic church can, in my judgement, be formed, except 
upon the wide and comprehensive basis which that faith in- 
cludes. 



THE END. 



PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, 
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 



/ 



oft 

■ 



